Switch with variable contact elements



May 23, 1967 J. BERNUTZ 3,321,600

SWITCH WITH VARIABLE CONTACT ELEMENTS Filed March 22, 1965 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.6

May 23, 1967 J. BERNUTZ ,6

' SWITCH WITH VARIABLE CONTACT ELEMENTS Filed March 22, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.4

J. BERNUTZ SWITCH WITH VARIABLE CONTACT ELEMENTS May 23, 1967 3 Sheets-5heet Filed March 22, 1965 Fig. 8

United States Patent 3,321,600 SWITCH WITH VARIABLE CONTACT ELEMENTS Johannes Bernutz, Ludwigsburg-Hoheneck, Germany, as-

signor to International Standard Electric Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Fiied Mar. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 441,499 Claims priority, application Germany, Apr. 10, 1964, St 21,953 13 Claims. (Cl. 200-166) The invention relates to a switch, particularly a toggle switch or a sliding switch with easily replaceable and mutually interchangeable switch contacts.

There are toggle switches or sliding switches known to the prior art in which the movable switching piece consists of an insulating body having printed leads as contacts. These switches are relatively complicated in construction and have the drawback that they can be used only in a particular manner which is determined by their construction. Modification afterward into another contacting or switching combination generally is impossible with these prior art switches.

It is, therefore, an object of the invention to create an easily manufactured switch in which the individual contacting segments or switching pieces can easily be changed and replaced by pieces with other contact combinations. This is achieved according to the invention in that one or several switching pieces are inserted with their top ends into a rail into which a lever mechanism engages with a switching handle, so that when actuating said handle, the switching pieces are inserted or removed from contact with the contacting springs, depending on the direction of actuation.

According to an embodiment of the invention, guide pieces are provided between two individual switching pieces within the spring strip body which limit the lateral motion of the switching pieces within said spring strip body.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the guide piece is shaped as a support and serves as a bearing for the lever mechanism simultaneously.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the lever mechanism is made so that it simultaneously effects two spring strip bodies arranged side by side.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, U-shaped parts are provided on either mounting ends of a spring strip body to serve as a lateral guide for the switching pieces.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, angle pieces serve to fasten and hold the lever mechanism and the spring strip body to a plate. The lever mechanism consists of a cap, pivoted in an angle piece and engaging through a pin into a longitudinal hole of the rail in which the switching pieces or elements are fixed.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the ribs arranged within the spring strip between the individual chambers for the contact springs are formed in such a way that one or two ribs, when using the spring strip as a counter plug for printed circuits, limit the plu ging depth, whereas all other ones, arranged within the spring strip body are essentially deeper located in the direction of the inner-bottom of the spring strip, in order to obtain a maximum length of the switching path.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, all ribs within the spring strip are located deeper and a 3,321,600 Patented May 23, 1967 ICC plugging limitation is obtained by inserting one or two additional insulating parts.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the switching piece is provided with leads arranged on either side which can be inter-connected within said switching piece. The surfaces (contacting surfaces) are covered with previous metal (bimetal, a galvanizing coat, solid previous metal foil, evaporation, etc.).

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the switching piece shows solid contacting pieces as leads which project on either side of said piece compared with the surface of the piece.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the leads are interrupted by holes in the plugging direction, depending on the sequence of contacts.

According to a fuurther embodiment of the invention, the spaces in plugging direction are filled by separate insulating parts, depending on the sequence of contacts.

The invention is now in detail explained with the aid of the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a partially exploded perspective view of a manually actuated switch;

FIG. 2 shows an example of a combination of individual switching pieces or slides with the aid of a rail, in a perspective view;

FIG. 3 shows a view of a toggle lever switch and illustrates the principle of operation;

FIG. 4 shows another view of a toggle switch with a lever mechanism and illustrates the principle of operation;

FIG. 5 shows another view of a double toggle switch, seen from the front side;

FIG. 6 shows a sectional view from a spring strip with an inserted guide portion;

FIG. 7 shows a view of a spring strip body in perspective view; and

FIG. 8 shows a view of a switch seen from the lateral side with a cover, partly shown in section.

Element 1 in FIG. 1 represents a spring strip body which is used, for example, as a receptacle for plug-in wafers or boards with printed circuits. The spring strip body 1 is equipped with contact springs 13 which protrude with their terminal ends 14 from the rear part of the spring body 1. Instead of the conventional wafers with printed circutis, switching pieces or switching slides 3 with printed leads 3 on their surface (either on one or on both sides) can be inserted into the spring strip body 1 for contact making with the contact springs 13, said switching pieces or slides consisting of insulating material. The leads can be interrupted by holes 24 or by separately inserted insulation parts in the plugging direction. The interruptions comply with the actuating sequence of the contacting set. When several switching pieces 3 are inserted in the spring strip in the construction of a switch, manually operated guide pieces 2 can be inserted into the spring strip 1 to limit the lateral motion of the switching pieces within said body 1.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a method for combining the individual switchingpieces or switching slides 3 with a rail 4. The pieces 3 are provided with studs 3" and a drill hole 15 for inserting into the rail 4. The studs 3" engage into longitudinal holes 16 of the rail 4 and are kept in said rail by bolts or pins which are inserted through drill holes 17 of the rail 4 and the hole 15 of a switching piece 3.

FIG. 3 shows a toggle lever switch incorporating two switch pieces 3 and rails 4 which are inserted in a spring C3 strip 1. The toggle lever switch includes a support 25, which serves as a lateral guide of the switching piece 3 'within the spring strip 1 and as support for a rod which is pivoted about the pivoting point 6. The switching wipers of the rods 5 engage the drill holes of both pieces 3. The handle is a normal toggle lever 18.

FIG. 4 shows another example of a toggle lever switch. The switching rods 5' are pivoted at the point 7 and engage the switching piece 3 through rails 4 when actuating the lever 18 in the direction of the arrow. Said piece is shown inserted into the spring strip body 1.

FIG. 5 shows a twin toggle lever switch, distinguished in that two spring strip bodies 1 (I and II) are arranged side by side. The toggle lever rod 5 i borne with its pivoting point 6 on a support arranged between both string strip bodies 1. When actuating the lever 18 in the direction of the arrow both switching pieces 3 within the two spring strip bodies 1 are actuated. Within such an arrangement of two spring strip bodies 1 several toggle lever switches can be arranged side by side, depending on the length of the spring strip body.

FIG. 6 shows a mounting end of a spring strip 1 into which U-shaped parts 10 can be inserted which at both ends of the spring strip 1 take over the lateral guidance for a rail 4, equipped with switching pieces 3 (see FIG. 2).

FIG. 7 shows a spring strip body 1 in a perspective view. At both front sides of the spring strip body 1 mounting angles 20 are slid onto the spring strip body 1. With these mounting angles 20 the spring strip body 1 can be fixed to a plate 19 (FIG. 8) having a recess through which the contacting end of the spring strip body 1 is accessible. As may be gathered from FIG. 8 furthermore, the individually shown angles 8 and 9 with the spring strip body 1 can be mounted to the plate 19, simultaneously with mounting of the spring strip body 1 to said plate, said angles are shown separately in FIG. 7. The individual angles 8 and 9 serve for a snap-type fixing of a cover lid 11, protecting the switch mounting to the plate 19 against ingress of dust and against unintended touching. Said cover 11 is provided at the point 12 with a pin which engages into a longitudinal hole 22 of the rail 4, so that the cover 11 pivoted at the point 21 of the angle piece 8 at tilting, i.e. when surmounting the stud 23 of the angle 9, can remove the switching piece 3 from the spring strip body 1, fixed in the rail 4 as described in FIG. 2.

In order to consider all contact sequences and contact combinations the switching path must be of sufiicient length. An extremely long switching path can be obtained in that the ribs arranged in the spring strip to limit theplugging 0r switching direction are partly omitted or respectively arranged deeper. The ribs themselves are parts of chamber limitation with the spring strip 1. Into each chamber a contact spring 13 is inserted. It

suffices, for example, if within the entire length of the spring strip only two ribs limit the plugging depth for plugging the conductor plates or wafers. All other ribs within the spring strip can be to the same level as the interior edge of the contact spring 13 in the plugging or the switching direction, so that the entire spring limb length can be used as a contacting path.

This plugging or switching method shows various advantages, for example, the individual parts required for the switch can be made in an automatic production process, because no adjusting work on those parts is necessary. Besides the contact spring 13 which is manufactured automatically, the individual switching pieces 3 can be made with the aid of patterns in the technique of printed circuits. With this construction of the switching pieces the individual contacting surfaces on both sides of the switching piece 3 can also be through-connected. In another production method the contacting surfaces on the switching piece can also consist of a through-going solid material, which protrudes on either end of the insulating material. When applying a switch according to the invention, the advantage results that the individual contact-combinations can be simply modified by other switching pieces from the outside, without the necessity to open the equipment.

While the principles of the invention have been described above in connection with specific apparatus and applications, it is to be understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation on the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A switch for providing readily changeable connections comprising a spring strip body for receiving and holding contact springs, a plurality of contact springs held in said spring strip body, a switching piece engaging said contact springs, said switching piece including contact leads over a part of at least one surface for contacting said contact springs, a rail engaging and supporting said switching piece, a lever mechanism engaging and supporting said rail, and a switching handle connected to said lever mechanism for activating said lever mechanism to cause the switching piece to engage and disengage selected contact springs.

2. A switch having readily changeable contacts substantially as claimed in claim 1 in which,

the switching piece includes two individual switching pieces for engaging said contact springs, and

a guide piece is placed between selected contact springs to limit lateral motion of the switching pieces.

3. A switch substantially as claimed in claim 2, in which the guide piece forms a support and at the same time provides a bearing for a switching piece.

4. A switch substantially as claimed in claim 1, in which the lever mechanism is constructed to simultaneously operate two adjacent but separate switching pieces.

5. A switch substantially as claimed in claim 1, in which guides are mounted on the mounting ends of the spring strip body to provide lateral guidance to the rail.

6. A switch substantially as claimed in claim 1, in which the spring strip body is mounted by mounting angles to a plate, and

the lever mechanism is held by angle pieces fastened to the mounting angles.

7. A switch substantially as claimed in claim 6, in which the lever mechanism pivots on one of said angle pieces and engages the rail through a longitudinal hole in the rail. 8. A switch substantially as claimed in clam 1, in which ribs are arranged Within the spring strip body between individual chambers for the contact springs, and

said ribs are arranged at various depths to limit the plugging depth and to obtain a maximum switching path length.

9. A switch substantially as claimed in claim 8, in which the ribs are all located deep within the spring strip body, and

a plugging limitation is obtained by inserting additional insulating parts.

10. A switch substantially as claimed in claim 1, in which the switching piece is provided with leads arranged on either side to be interconnected within the switching piece.

11. A switch substantially as claimed in claim 1, in which,

the leads on the switching piece include solid contact pieces as leads arranged on either side of the switching piece.

3,321,600 5 6 12. A switch substantially as claimed in claim 10, in are filled, de ending on th sequence of contacts, by which,

separate insulating parts. the leads on the switching piece are interrupted in the plugging direction by suitable holes, depending on No references cited.

the sequence of contacts. 5 13. A switch substantially as claimed in claim 11, ROBERT SCHAEFER, primary Examiner in which,

spaces between the contact pieces on the switching piece H. O. JONES, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A SWITCH FOR PROVIDING READILY CHANGEABLE CONNECTIONS COMPRISING A SPRING STRIP BODY FOR RECEIVING AND HOLDING CONTACT SPRINGS, A PLURALITY OF CONTACT SPRINGS HELD IN SAID SPRING STRIP BODY, A SWITCHING PIECE ENGAGING SAID CONTACT SPRINGS, SAID SWITCHING PIECE INCLUDING CONTACT LEADS OVER A PART OF AT LEAST ONE SURFACE FOR CONTACTING SAID CONTACT SPRINGS, A RAIL ENGAGING AND SUPPORTING SAID SWITCHING PIECE, A LEVER MECHANISM ENGAGING AND 